Celtic had a busier January transfer window than most people would have expected. The club continued their relentless quest of strengthening the squad by signing four players in the form of Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwata, Alistair Johnston and Oh Hyeon-gyu. On the other hand, there were several who have left the club in recent times as well.
One man who has finally completed his Parkhead exit, after the transfer saga dragged on for months is Giorgos Giakoumakis. He is now a Atlanta United player.
Celtic brought in a replacement up front in the form of Oh, who has already made a few appearances off the bench and seems to be impressing teammates and fans alike. For much of January though, it did not look like he was the striker that the Hoops were after.
Most of the rumours had initially surrounded a possible move for South Korean World Cup star, Cho Gue-sung. There had even been suggestions that Celtic had put in a transfer bid of around £3 million plus a sell-on fee for him. But he decided to remain at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
£3 million star praised for rejecting chance to join Celtic in January
As reported by HITC, Park Joo-ho told Yonhap News:
"“It’s better to go in the summer.“It’s not easy to adapt right away without having a chance to train with your team-mates.”"
Of course, just because Cho did not join Celtic in the middle of the season does not mean that a move is off the table forever.
It is very possible that Celtic could try to sign him in the future once again. But, a lot of that will depend on multiple factors.
The first is of course how Oh does at Parkhead. If he proves to be a success then there might be no need for the club to try and sign another striker. Another is the future of Kyogo. The way he is performing right now, it would be no surprise if other clubs come calling in the summer.